Death and the Afterlife Flashcards
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What did many philosophers want to do related to Death and the Afterlife?
Many philosophers such as Socrates, Plato and the Stoics wanted to ease the ‘sting’ of death by reducing our attachment to this life and offering an eternal alternative.
What did Empicurus say about death?
Epicurus: “Therefore the most frightful of evils, death, is nothing to us, seeing that when we exist, death is not present, and when death is present, we do not exist. Thus it is nothing to the living or the dead, seeing that the former do not have it, and the latter no longer exist.”
this was Epicurus’ solution to the problem of what happens when we die but this was criticised due to the problem of the anticipation of one’s death.
what do Christians believe about life after death?
Humankind has souls that are capable of surviving bodily death.
After death, people are resurrected and continue in a new and different dimension. (eternity with God)
Problems: no empirical evidence for heaven or hell.
Hell is incompatible with the characteristics of God being omnibenevolent, omnipotent and omniscient.
An all-loving God wouldn’t condemn people to eternal damnation and an all-seeing God surely knows which of his creation would fall and therefore suffer eternally in hell
Theodicy: justification of the righteousness of God despite the existence of evil.
what are the influences of the old testament on the afterlife?
In the Old Testament, there was very little suggestion that life exists after death however there were references to the possibility that death is not the end; death of Abraham: “Then Abraham breathed his last and died a good old age, an old man and full of years; he was gathered to his people.”
Daniel 12:2 “Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt.”
what was the significance of the resurrection (death and the afterlife)?
Jesus had a bodily resurrection and spoke of a physical life after death in which there would be reward and punishment for deeds done in this life.
The resurrection of Jesus provided comfort in times of despair for Christians as when they lose a loved one there is the possibility of being reunited in heaven.
The death of Jesus was also a sacrifice for the sins of all humankind. He bridged the gap of sin between humans and God (epistemic distance). It made it so humans can enter God’s kingdom with repentance.
do Christians believe in reincarnation?
No- they reject the idea that souls move from one body to another but instead believe that the soul would be given a new body in which to continue to live after death.
what is parousia?
the Christian belief that Jesus will return to judge all of mankind, selecting those worthy to live with God forever.
what is heaven like?
According to Paul, upon death a person’s body will be transformed into a spiritual being and people will have a new life in a new kind of existence. The transformation will restore the God-humankind relationship. Aquinas speaks of a beatific vision that says the end is when the human will achieve perfect happiness.
what is hell like?
Book of Revelation describes hell as a “burning lake of fiery sulphur”. It is a place of no escape.
what does Dante describe hell to be like?
Dante describes hell as being an utterly dysfunctional state which lacks faith in God and any hope. There are nine circles in hell (limbo, lust, gluttony, greed, anger, heresy, violence, fraud and treachery). Betrayal of special relationships sits at the centre of these circles. In Dante’s hell, there is no salvation as the people who go there have alienated themselves from God’s grace and love by their own choices.
where were heaven and hell thought to be in ancient times?
hell was believed to be at Earth’s core and heaven above the Earth and the skies- symbolism of the opposites provides insight and understanding.
what are the ideas surrounding purgatory?
Purgatory is not mentioned in the New Testament, however, it is a state of cleansing that may be required after death, before a person can enter heaven.
This happens because heaven is morally perfect therefore its inhabitants should also be morally perfect.
If heaven is morally perfect then the inhabitants must be incapable of sin- meaning in heaven humans acquire a new nature or that our nature has transformed,
Roman Catholics believe that although most people are ‘good’ upon death they are still not worthy of meeting God meaning that they need cleansing
Purgatory is the opportunity for people to be cleansed of their sins so that they do not have to spend eternity separated from God- as hell isn’t part of an omnibenevolent God’s plan.
what does the Gregory of Nyssa say?
“When the process of purification has been completed, the better attributes of the soul appear- imperishability, life, honour, grace, glory, power, and, in short, all that belongs to human nature as the image of Deity”
what does John Hick believe about purgatory?
John Hick: He sees purgatory as an ‘in-between’ state after the physical world in preparation for the perfection to come.
1 Corinthians verse 3?
discusses the idea that upon death people are still worldly and require cleansing by fire of the work that each person does throughout their life.
